THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT COLOR COLOR PROFILES
CMYK RGB CMYK stands for Cyan-Magenta-Yellow-Black, RGB stands for Red-Green-Blue and is the color and is the ideal profile to use for digital printing scheme used with electronic displays. Photo applications. editing software often defaults to RGB color because it offers the widest range of colors.
IDEAL FOR EXAMPLE IDEAL FOR EXAMPLE
CMYK 100 66 48 38 RGB 114 208 235
Pantone EXAMPLE
Pantone is a standardized color PANTONE 300 C matching system, utilizing the Pantone numbering system for identifying colors. Pantone colors are commonly referred to as PMS colors (which stands for Pantone Matching System), or “spot colors.” PANTONE TIPS
When starting a project, look for a Pantone color that most closely fits your company’s brand colors. It can be difficult to reproduce certain hues, so utilizing a Pantone color guarantees a consistent color match.
Pantone Formula Guide Pantone offers a myriad of formula guides and chip books that showcase PMS colors, including their Pantone Formula Guide that we recommend for designers.
Coated vs. Uncoated The guide listed above includes both coated and uncoated swatches, which will help identify the way color will look on a coated (shiny) label or uncoated (matte) label.
Why Pantone? CMYK process colors only match PMS colors 55% of the time. If exact color match is crucial, it’s important to leverage pantone colors. When calling out Pantone colors, be sure to use their PMS number: Right: PANTONE 300 C Wrong: CMYK 100 62 7 0
Color Limitations Blue Label Digital can reach up to 98% of the color gamut, however true neon and pastel colors are outside of the color range. PREPARING DESIGN FILES
Adobe Illustrator Ai When setting up a new design file in Illustrator, the “New Document” screen will have a field labeled “Color Mode”. Make sure this drop-down menu has CMYK selected.
To convert a whole document to CMYK when you’re exporting it to a PDF, go to:
File > Save As... > Choose “Adobe PDF”
Adobe Photoshop Ps When setting up a new design file in Photoshop, the “New Document” screen will have a field labeled “Color Mode”. Make sure this drop-down menu has CMYK selected.
To convert a whole document to CMYK when you’re exporting it to a PDF, go to:
File > Save As... > Choose “Photoshop PDF”
Adobe InDesign Id InDesign will default to CMYK when you select “Print” as the “Intent” for the document preset.
InDesign does not embed images into your file, rather it links them. This means that even though your file is set up in CMYK, the linked image(s) won’t automatically convert to CMYK. You’ll either need to convert images to CMYK beforehand, or convert them to CMYK when you export your document as a PDF. Here’s how to do that:
File > Adobe PDF Presets > Choose “[High Quality Print]”
For all Programs. After choosing File > Save As... a PDF preset window will appear. Choose the “Output” tab on the left-hand side and change the “Color Conversion” field to say “Convert to Destination”. Make sure your “Destination” field says “U.S. Web Coated (SWOP) v2”. This is another way of saying “CMYK”. Then simply click “Export”. TELEPHONE: ADDRESS: DIGITAL: 3760 LANCASTER NEW LEX RD. SE [email protected] (866) 506 2583 LANCASTER, OHIO 4310 WWW.BLUELABELDIGITAL.COM